Ducati Motorcycles

In 1926, the three brothers Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Cavalieri Ducati founded the Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, a company dedicated to the production of electrical condensers.

Inspired by the genius of famous fellow citizen, Guglielmo Marconi, the three young entrepreneurs created a small laboratory in the heart of Bologna, later choosing Borgo Panigale as the location for a building that would become one of the jewels in the crown of Italian industry.

After the Ducati factory was destroyed in a WW2 bombing raid, the brothers realised that Italy needed new modes of transport to help mobilise the nation. Their answer was to produce the Ducati Cucciolo.

The Cucciolo or puppy represented Ducati's first steps into the world of motorcycling. Small and reliable, the Cucciolo was a symbol of the Italian post-war renaissance. By 1946 production was underway and by 1949 Ducati had progressed to its first real motorcycle the Ducati 60 which was soon joined by the Cruiser, the first scooter in the history of Italian motorcycling to have an automatic gearbox.

In 1954 the newly formed company, Ducati Meccanica recruited a man whose name would become synonymous with Ducati: Engineer Fabio Taglioni. Entrusted with the far from simple task of creating a race bike that would win right from its debut, Taglioni began to design the Gran Sports models, which would dominate high level competitions such as the Milano Taranto and the Motogiro d'Italia.

In 1956 Fabio Taglioni took a technical solution that had already proved successful for Mercedes and its winning Formula 1 cars of 1954 and 1955 and integrated the Desmodromic system into a motorcycle for the very first time. The system controlled the closing of the valves mechanically - without relying on classic springs - and consisted of a sophisticated system of camshafts and opening and closing rocker arms.

Victorious upon its debut in 1956 with the Ducati 125 Desmo, the Desmo technology continued to be developed and refined from that year on and became one of the key features of Ducati motorcycle engines.

In 1957 two Ducati employees, Leopoldo Tartarini and Giorgio Monetti, set out on a tour around the world onboard two Ducati 175 machines fresh from the production line. This promotional tour supported by Ducati and never before imagined for a motorcycle, became an incredible one year journey that saw the two adventurers complete more than 70.000 km.

The arrival of Ducati in the American motorcycle market was a very significant step for the company. Although not directly involved in competition, the Italian manufacturer developed two important projects, the Apollo and the Scrambler. Both bikes went down in history, the Apollo for being the first Ducati to have the L configuration engine while the Scrambler, initially intended only for the American market, became the most desired motorcycle for Italians also.

In response to the influx of Japanese machines in the early 1970s, Ducati produced its very first twins, the 500 GP and the 750 GT.

The Imola 200 in 1972 was the first international competition for race bikes derived from production machines and signified one of the most important victories for the Ducati L-Twin. At its debut, the 750 Imola ridden by Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari, demonstrated its incredible potential by outclassing the competition and beating man-of-the-moment, Giacomo Agostini aboard the MV Agusta.

Later that decade Ducati scored one of its most historic victories, the 1978 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. The win, on the notorious island track, was to be one of the final victories for Englishman Mike Hailwood, the unforgettable champion who had started his brilliant career on board a Ducati in 1958.

The need for Ducati to update the design of the twin-cylinder engine in 1979, saw the bevel gear cam-drive replaced by a toothed belt system. The Pantah project also introduced Ducati's famous Trellis frame and in 1985 made the significant progression to four-valve cylinder heads, both elements later seen as the true beginning of the modern Ducati Superbike.

The 1990s signified a turning point for Ducati. In a decade characterized by financial turmoil, Ducati was thus renewed as a company and transformed into one of the most respected companies in the motorcycling world. The company, strong from its successes during the first years of Superbike, poured the experience gained from racing into the production of two iconic motorcycles, the Monster and the 916.

The last decade of the 20th century also saw the creation of Ducati Corse, Ducati's dominant racing division which first competed in the World Superbike Championship before making a debut in MotoGP and subsequently winning their first world title in 2007 with Casey Stoner.

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